Earlier tonight it was reported that Secretary Clinton is experiencing Right Transverse Sinus Venous Thrombosis. The transverse sinus is a vein located between the brain and skull that carries blood from the brain to the heart; we have one on each side of the head.  I'm not a doctor, but I know a thing or two about this part of the body because the cause of my pulsatile tinnitus is transverse sinus stenosis, a narrowing of the same vein (my issue is with the transverse sinus on the right, too).  Secretary Clinton apparently has a clot in hers.  It's not a common condition, but it is treatable and the patient may recover fully if it is caught in time, as it seems it was in her case.  Good news!

Pulsatile tinnitus, aka "whooshing" is a possible symptom of cerebral (or dural) venous thrombosis. So, I have to ask: Secretary Clinton, Do You Whoosh??

Wishing you a speedy and full recovery!

Watch the video below or click HERE for more on Secretary Clinton's reported diagnosis.

For more information on cerebral venous thrombosis click here for a clinical presentation.

For detailed information about the Cerebral Venous Sinuses, including diagrams and a fantastic overview about their development, see this page on neuroangio.org 

ESPN Sports fans may know American sportscaster Sean McDonough, but did you know that he's a cured whoosher?  

Sean was diagnosed with SCDS and recently had surgery to correct it.  Now he's whoosh free!  Prior to his surgery, in June 2012, he shared his story in an article in USAToday.  

Sean, congratulations for finding silence and best wishes for a speedy recovery.  Good for you for telling your story and raising awareness about SCDS and the symptoms, like the whooshing, heartbeat sound. 

The only thing missing from this piece (AGAIN)?  A reference to the term "pulsatile tinnitus," the name for the symptom of hearing a sound that is in sync with the heartbeat.  Please sign and share our petiion for a diagnosis code for pulsatile tinnitus.  Because words matter, especially when it comes to proper classification and diagnosis of symptoms.  It could mean the next SCDS patient receives a quicker diagnosis and treatment!

This has been a good - no, a GREAT - month for the diagnosis and treatment of cases of SCDS, and high profile ones, no less.  Promising news for a condition that was only recently discovered.  Actually, there has been a steady stream of stories like this one all year.  For more like this, see posts here, here, here and here. The whooshing is described so well but it is not indicated in these stories that it is pulsatile tinnitus.  My hope is that this detail can be added! 

All these stories, as well as other stories that detail additional treatable causes of pulsatile tinnitus (the list of possible causes is long, remember), can be found on the Cured Whooshers page.

If you experience any of the SCDS symptoms described be sure to tell your doctor and mention some of these cases. For more information on SCDS, see this page from Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Sean, enjoy the silence!

Additional Sources:

"McDonough Healing, But Crowd Noise Still Painful," Michael Hiestand, USAToday.com, December 20, 2012. 

"Sean McDonough Recovering From Scary Surgery," Chad Finn, The Boston Globe, December 21, 2012.

"ESPN’s Sean McDonough Publicizes Rare Ear Condition That Will Require Surgery," Deborah Kotz, The Boston Globe, June 18, 2012. 

Lately, we've seen many high profile stories re SCDS, one possible underlying cause of pulsatile tinnitus.  Here is another.  Another cured whoosher!  Great coverage, and a great description of the "hearing your heartbeat" symptom, but still,

NO MENTION OF THE WORDS "PULSATILE TINNITUS" in the story?  Not one time. 

Come on doctors.  Great work curing a fellow whoosher, but let's call the symptom by its name and, more importantly, get a diagnosis code to make stories like this complete so more patients can be identified quickly and cured. 

Karrie, you're an inspiration.  Enjoy the silence.  Good for you for being your best advocate and for not giving up!

Thanks to a fellow Whoosher from our Facebook group for letting me know about this story that aired on the West Coast.  If you hear or see others please email me at whooshers@gmail.com.  Sharing stories like these is key!  

See this and other stories of Cured Whooshers, including links to medical reports that you can share with your doctors, on the Cured Whooshers page.